Seeing Karma and the Big Picture

[Karyn]

 

Seeing Karma and the Big Picture

“There is so much to be studied in the bible of humanity!  By it, we know that everything has to be paid.”  So wrote Amalia Domingo Soler (1835-1909), a Spanish poet, philosopher, writer, editor, social reformer, Spiritist, and the author of Acts that Prove, recently translated into English by Yvonne Crespo Limoges and republished.  The book is about the karmic aspects of life, how suffering in one lifetime is often linked to actions in a previous lifetime.  According to Limoges, Ms. Soler, (below) is known by Spiritists as the “Grand Dame of Spiritism” and the “Chronicler of the Poor.”

“It is a collection of human incidents (usually tragic) that Ms. Soler wrote down, then asked the spirits about them,” Limoges explains.  “The language is forthright and direct. The stories were originally printed in her magazine then placed in book form known in Spanish as Hechos Que Prueban, which in English could be translated as either, “Facts that Prove” or as “Acts that Prove.” I chose the latter as more appropriate, because the chapters report actions that occurred or that people took, and then the spirits tell of the effects (consequences) of those acts, whether for good or bad.”

One of the frequent spirit communicators in the book is Father Germain, who dictated his life story (when on earth as a priest) through a medium, the result being a book which is now a Spiritist classic, in novel form – Memoirs of Father Germain.  (That very intriguing book was translated into English by Limoges’s father, Edgar Crespo.)  It is not always clear which spirit is communicating, whether Germain or another, but they offer much to ponder on, including this:  “In this period, is when man needs to know something of his life, because he now has sufficient knowledge to comprehend the advantages of goodness and the harmfulness of evil.  Therefore, since everything reaches its time, that is why we have come to awaken your attention; that is why the tables dance and why the furniture changes places, and the voices of the spirits resounded in different parts of the Earth, because it is necessary that it be understood that you are not alone in this world.”

Another communication put it this way:  “We come to give advice, to strengthen you, to teach you to know about universal harmony; to tell you that the story of your mistakes of yesterday are the causes of your misfortune today. This is the mission of the spirits near you; spurring you on to work, to cultivate your reason, and that is what will lead you to the perfect understanding of God.”

The story of Carlos and Luisa, as discussed in Chapter 11 is an especially emotional one.  The two were romantically attracted to each other in their youth, but Carlos’s mother was adamantly opposed to their relationship because she wanted her son to marry into wealth, which Luisa’s family did not have.  To please his mother, Carlos distanced himself from Luisa, but they corresponded frequently, expressing their love for each other.  Some 30 years later, when Carlos received a telegram that Luisa was dying, he rushed to her deathbed and sat by her as she took her last breath. 

As explained to Mrs. Soler by a spirit communicator, Carlos and Luisa had been linked together for many centuries by a powerful love. In their past incarnation, they were married and had a daughter who fell in love with a humble peasant.  They objected to her relationship and insisted that she marry into nobility.  The humble worker was deported and died in exile.  The daughter rejected a noble suitor and died prematurely, forgiving her parents for their blindness.  In effect, Carlos and Luisa purified themselves in the present lifetime for the suffering they caused their daughter in a past lifetime.

A lady Spiritist wrote to Amelia, informing her that a newborn child had been left at the door of her house and wondering if there was some spiritual significance to it.  Amelia asked a spirit about it and was told that in her past life the inquiring woman had belonged to nobility and was deceived and seduced by a baron.  The child was taken from her at birth to hide her dishonor and placed in an asylum.  In her remaining years, she wept for her lost son and undertook many charitable acts of helpless men in her son’s memory.  The abandoned child left on her doorstep in the present life was the child of the past life returning to her. 

In another chapter, we meet a man named Francisco Crea who was erroneously convicted of murdering a person and then spent 35 years in prison.  “Is it not true that the preceding story is horrific?” Soler asks, wondering where we can find eternal justice.  She received an answer from the spirit of Father Germain, who explained that some centuries ago, in another lifetime, the man killed his brother and was not held accountable. Thus, he served his time in a subsequent lifetime.

In still another story, Teodora Cruz wonders why her husband’s grandmother hates her so much.  Consulting with the spirits, Soler is informed that the grandmother is a rejected suitor from a prior lifetime who was dominated by violent passions. 

There are 41 other stories in which past-life activities are linked to the current life. The author offers much profound wisdom and philosophy in explaining the issues linking the lives.  Ms. Soler offers much profound wisdom and philosophy.  In the chapter on suicide, she writes: “Living without hope!...It is not living! To live without desiring is to die without agony. Living, dominated by indifference, is to anticipate the crisis of death, it is to open oneself the pit to bury our body in it; it is to become a gravedigger.”

Soler cautions against judging others based on outward appearances.  She tells the story of a homeless person who died of hunger, in spite of the fact that 31,000 pesetas were found in his bed of rags.  Having been very greedy and very much a miser in past lives, he learned the lesson of poverty in the current life, but his past hoarding remained partially with him, the result being that he needed yet another lifetime to learn the lesson of charity.

Soler refers to atheism as the most profound desperation.  “What is life without a tomorrow; the sketch of a painting, the prologue of a story, a voice without echo, a flower without aroma? On the other hand, when hope encourages us, what unlimited horizons present themselves before our eyes! The death of the one who waits, is the death of the just, as the Catholics say, sweet and tranquil.”

Michael Tymn is the author of The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die, Resurrecting Leonora Piper: How Science Discovered the Afterlife, and Dead Men Talking: Afterlife Communication from World War I.
His latest book, No One Really Dies: 25 Reasons to Believe in an Afterlife is published by White Crow books.